1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for controlling an electrical apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
JP2002-291061A discloses a method for controlling multiple electrical apparatuses with a common small-sized general-purpose control terminal. The technique disclosed in JP2002-291061A is a technique for controlling multiple electrical apparatuses in a home by a mobile phone. Information such as a list of electrical apparatuses which can be controlled by a mobile phone is registered with a home appliances information management server. A user accesses the home appliances information management server via a mobile phone to acquire the list of electrical apparatuses, and selects and controls a desired electrical apparatus in the list. A control signal from the mobile phone is transmitted to the target electrical apparatus via a mimic base station installed in the home. The electrical apparatus operates in accordance with the control signal.
However, in the technique disclosed in JP2002-291061A, a mobile phone accesses the home appliances information management server via a public mobile phone base station. In controlling an electrical apparatus, the mobile phone is used mainly in a room. However, radio waves from the public mobile phone base station may sometimes be weak in a room. In such a case, it may happen that the mobile phone cannot acquire the list of electrical apparatuses which can be controlled by the mobile phone, and the like and, therefore, cannot control the electrical apparatus.